Relationship Between Global and Non-Global Zones

Installed solaris branded non-global zones can be affected by installing, updating, and uninstalling packages in the global zone.

Changing facets and variants can cause package installations and removals and affect non-global zones.

Non-global zones do not need to be booted to be updated from the global zone. Non-global zones only need to be installed to be affected by package changes in the global zone.

When you run installation and update commands in the global zone, by default the global zone and each installed non-global zone is updated serially, and the non-global zones are modified only to the extent required to keep the non-global zone compatible with the global zone.

• To perform the same operation in non-global zones that you perform in the global zone instead of performing only the minimal required updates in the non-global zones, use the -r option as described in Options That Operate on Non-Global Zones.

• To update non-global zones concurrently with the global zone, use the -C option as described in Options That Operate on Non-Global Zones and shown in Updating Multiple Non-Global Zones Concurrently.

Tip:

Use the -nv options to review what changes will be made in non-global zones as well as in the global zone.

When you run package commands while logged into a non-global zone, only that non-global zone is affected. Non-global zones can be different from their parent global zone in the following ways, for example:

• Different packages can be installed.

• Different versions of the same package can be installed if the result is compatible with the global zone.

• Different packages can be on the avoid list.

• Different packages can be frozen and can be frozen at different versions.

• Mediators can be set to select different default implementations.

• Different facets can be set.

Versions of packages installed in a non-global zone can be restricted by the versions installed in the global zone. Some packages cannot be updated or downgraded in a non-global zone because those packages must be the same version in the non-global zone as they are in the global zone. For example, the package named entire must be the same version in each non-global zone as in the global zone.

If a package that is installed in a non-global zone has a parent dependency, then updating that package in the global zone causes that package to be updated in the non-global zone. Packages that are dependents of packages that have parent dependencies are also affected.

Packages that are not affected by parent dependencies can be installed at a different version in a non-global zone than the version that is installed in the global zone. To install a different version in the non-global zone, specify the version in the pkg install command or freeze the version at the version you want.

See Sync Linked Package Cannot Be Installed and Non-Global Zone Cannot Be Installed for some help related to installing packages in non-global zones.